Magazine

Chapter Projects Presented at Annual Student Meeting

In May, the chapter joined the fourth student club meeting at the University of Beira Interior, Covilha, Portugal, hosted by the Covilha Student Club and with the support of AFCEA Portugal. More than 70 participants, including representatives from the Portuguese Ministry of Defense, industry, academia and research centers, exchanged relevant information on the activities of defense research and development (R&D) and presented opportunities for new projects. Rear Adm. Mario Simoes Marques, commander of the Naval Academy, Victor Lobo, faculty advisor, and other professors and students of the Portuguese Naval Academy in Almada, Portugal, were active participants in this event. Cadet EN-AEL Ricardo Caldeira Chaves, chapter president, presented the club activities and R&D projects involving student club members such as conceptual design of an autonomous underwater vehicle for the VENT-SUP project; control of an autonomous underwater vehicle using biomimetic with reinforcement learning for the SABUVIS project; use of augmented reality in disaster relief operations for the THEMIS project; and the implementation of a defense system against attacks on ships and port facilities with commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).